Dealing with Absence Tales and Excuses Head On In the Workplace

‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ – well that’s clearly not the case especially in a business environment. According to a survey commissioned by CareerBuilder, 28% of employees in the US have called in sick to work, even though they were perfectly healthy. It’s not just calling in sick, but lateness, taking long breaks and skipping off early are some of the major obstacles faced by management in attempting to manage employee attendance.

Employees are a company’s greatest assets. Good employees would result in good productivity, good workforce and would reflect in the company’s growth. It is important for the management to tackle absenteeism problems to improve their workplace environment.

Here are 5 tips for dealing with absenteeism in the office.

Make your Absenteeism Policy ClearFrom day one, make the policy clear to your employees so they know your company’s policy on attendance. Put the policy in your employee handbook, in hard copy and also online, for example you can put it on My Library section in TimeTec Cloud so it’s accessible to all employees at all times. So they can’t cry “I don’t know…” because obviously ignorance is not a bliss when it comes to company rules and regulations.

Return to Work InterviewsYour employee called in for a personal emergency leave. The next day you can call him for a return to work interview so you could better understand his reasons for absenteeism and find a solution if needed. For example, set a return to work interview session by sending your employee a private message via TimeTec Cloud and when he checks in to work, he could read the message.

Monitor the TrendsMonitor attendance records and highlight the absences to the managers. It may sound simple, but to monitor each and every one of your employees’ attendances is hard work. This is where your attendance software comes handy. For example, in TimeTec Cloud, the admin can set employees attendance rules and tolerance, and generate tardiness report to view absences, lateness or short working hour for all employees. Tardiness will be highlighted so the management can take proper action when necessary.

Consider Offering IncentivesReward employees with good attendance level. Offer incentives or bonuses to encourage employees to have good level of attendance and to boost their morale to come to work. Employees always love to get extra cash for example, an extra USD200 will be given in January if an employee has full attendance in the previous year.

Let Them Know – We Are Watching You!
If you found your employee has bad attendance records, notify him/her, show proof of the absence record and explain the consequences for violating the company’s absenteeism policy. Don’t just nonchalantly let this go because a realization is the first step to improvement.

Pay attention to office automation software if your company hasn’t already and take a look at www.timeteccloud.com to see how attendance control could benefit your company’s revenue and productivity in the long run.

HUTAIB InfoTech Solutions was established in year 2011 in United Arab Emirates. HUTAIB is a provider of high-level Security & CCTV Surveillance Systems, Time Attendance & Door Access Control Solution, Structured Cabling and Network, ICT & Telecommunications Systems and other Low Voltage Systems for Commercial, Government and industrial sectors throughout the UAE.